JOAN SCALESanswers your travel questions
My wife wants to go on a walking holiday in Norway
Q Last year our family drove to Norway, where we had a great time. My wife did a lot of walking before we had children, and now that they are older she would love to do a long walk in Norway, particularly the one from the very north to the very south. She would also like to do St Olav's Way. What can you tell us about this type of trip?PF, Dublin
For hundreds of years pilgrims had been walking the way of St Olav, from Oslo to Nidaros Cathedral, in Trondheim, about 650km away. The trail fell into disuse until the Norwegian government reopened it, in 1997. The pilgrim season is from June to September, and this walk would take about 30 days. Pilegrim.no, the site of the Norwegian Confraternity of St James, contains all the information you need to plan the trip. You might also try to get hold of a book about walking the route, Pilgrim Road to Nidaros, by Alison Raju, published by Cicerone Guides. It is out of print at the moment, but you may be able to get a copy through amazon.co.uk.
Q My mother, who is in her 80s, has always wanted to travel to Spain, especially the south. She loves museums, art exhibitions and other cultural events. She cannot walk far even with a cane. I am willing to drive around Spain, and we would love to visit different parts of the country. Could you recommend guest houses or reasonably priced hotels that have either ground-floor bedrooms or lifts and suggest places where my mother could visit in comfort without having to walk too far? We live in the west of Ireland and would like to fly directly to Spain.TS, Galway
You can fly to Malaga from Shannon or to Faro in Portugal, near the border with Spain, from Ireland West Knock airport with Ryanair (ryanair.com). The paradors of Spain might be ideal for your trip. They are a group of 93 state-owned hotels, usually in historic buildings, in some of the more interesting areas of the country. Paradors give a
30 per cent discount for over-55s, plus good rates in spring and autumn. The agent in Ireland is Lorna Roberts (095-23511, lornaroberts holidays.com). She has visited all of them, many with her mother, and can tell you which are the more suitable for your trip. During the year there are many cultural events, exhibition, festivals and fiestas that may appeal to your mother. You can find out more at spain.info.
Q This summer we are hoping to head off on a long-dreamed-of cycling and camping trip along the French coast. Funds are pretty tight, so we're looking for the cheapest options. Can you recommend the best-value alternatives if the camping- cycling combo gets too rough?SC, Dublin
Bringing bikes from Ireland will cost about €80 by air or €20 by sea. When you transport a bike by plane you have to partly dismantle it, so you may also need a protective bag. You can rent bikes in France from holiday-bikes.com, which has locations all over the country. Rental for a week costs about €65 per bike, and you must return it to the shop you rented it from. You may find cheaper rentals in local areas.
One of the nicest regions in France for cycling is Poitou-Charentes. It is not as expensive as the Mediterranean coast and has lots of nice cycle trails. See holidays-france-atlantic.com/cycling. You can fly to La Rochelle from Dublin with Ryanair.
Close to La Rochelle is Île de Ré (iledere.com), an island that is perfect for cycling. It has good facilities for camping and beautiful beaches to visit.
You can get around France easily by SNCF trains, which usually cater for bicycles. You’ll find timetables at voyages-sncf.com.
If the going gets tough there are many good-value hotels in France, including chains such Ibis (ibishotel.com), Campanile (campanile.com) and Formule 1 (hotelformule1.com).
For more general information, try franceguide.com.
Go contact:
E-mail questions, with your name and address, to jscales@irishtimes.com.